Innermost Being Blog

Dear old me

by Innermost Being, posted in Word Prompts

Write a letter to your 100-year-old self.

Dear old me,

I’m writing this at sixty, and I do not want to be a centenarian. If you are reading this letter, then God obviously had other plans.

Of course, it’s not up to me how long I live, except to the extent that healthy habits prolong my (our) life.

It was hard in our fifties to accept the physical signs of aging. I hope you are comfortable in your skin, no matter how wrinkly it is. 

Remember that time in our forties when we were tutoring at the middle school and a kid said, “Hey, old lady!” We had a good laugh at that. Kent loved that story.

I expect that you are far wiser than your sixty-year old self, so I have only one piece of advice for you. Let other people help you. I know you want to be independent, but you aren’t as strong physically as you once were. Remember how much Cindy loved caring for the elderly?

I am sorry for all the losses you’ve experienced. I can’t know who you will outlive, but at 100, you’ve outlived so many loved ones. You miss them. I don’t even want to think about it.

As I look ahead to my later years, I pray that I will make a difference in the lives of many people. I pray that I will have an inner beauty that doesn’t fade with time. That’s how I imagine you, a gentle and quiet spirit.

Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.

1 Peter 3:4-5

Finally, I want to thank you. It may be weird to thank yourself, but being thought weird never stopped us. Thank you for caring about other people. You are just an ordinary person, but I just know you will be remembered fondly for being kind.

Love, me.

Failure is a teaching tool

by Innermost Being, posted in Word Prompts

How has a failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success?

I can’t think of a time when failure “set me up” for future success, but I have learned much more in my life from my failures than from my successes. When you let failure teach you something, you come out stronger and better positioned for future success.

Failure is a teaching tool. Failure tells you to reassess and try something else.

Failure teaches humility. You’re not invincible. You have limits. You can’t do everything. You can’t change other people, only yourself.mn

When you fail, it may mean that you weren’t up to the challenge. Try, try, try again. It may mean that whatever you were doing doesn’t work. Try a different approach.

Failure can be humiliating. It can be painful. But it can teach you perseverance, and perseverance builds character. Character produces hope.

Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.

Romans 5:3-4

It’s important to not internalize failure. If you fail, it doesn’t mean that you are a failure. It does not mean you aren’t good enough. It means you need to get back up and try again.

My Seven Year Itch

by Innermost Being, posted in Word Prompts

Do you enjoy your job?

I enjoy my job most of the time, but it can be  stressful, especially this time of year. My job has gotten more complicated over the years, and I have grown tired of it. I’m itching to move on to the next phase of my life – retirement.

I have known people who worked for the same company their entire career, forty years or more. I have been working for my current employer for just seven years. In my thirty-eight year career as an accountant, I left three other jobs after eight years. This pattern makes me believe I have a “seven year itch” with respect to jobs. It just takes me a while to scratch it.

I was today-years-old when I learned the origin of the phrase “seven year itch.” According to Wikipedia, the phrase was first used by Henry David Thoreau in reference to the skin disease scabies!

The phrase as I knew it is based on the belief that happiness in a marriage or long-term relationship declines after seven years or so. I became familiar with the phrase watching The Seven Year Itch starring Marilyn Monroe.

Today, the use of the phrase “seven year itch” has expanded to other “cycles of dissatisfaction,” such as jobs or homes. It seems appropriate to use it to describe my recurring job dissatisfaction.

When I considered the timing of my retirement, I initially planned to stay eight years to match my other long-term jobs. But I realized that is silly. I really don’t want to live my life counting down the days as I am now (15 days!!).

Father, bring up there down here

by Innermost Being, posted in Prayer

I learned the King James version of The Lord’s Prayer when I was a kid. Many churches still recite the King James version, even though we use a more modern translation for other Bible verses. The prayer is so familiar that we may recite it by rote, not pausing to let the words sink in.

The prayer that the Lord taught us to pray is the topic of a Lenten sermon series at my church. We are studying the prayer phrase by phrase, but with a less confusing translation.

Our Father who art… Perhaps because my first Bible was a King James, I didn’t realize how confusing the old English verbs are. God is an artist, but no, he is not up in the clouds painting.

…in heaven. We think of heaven as a place far away and in the future. It’s the place we go when we die, right?

Last week, Pastor Bob said that the real word is heavens not heaven. Our Father is in the heavens, in the air around us, as close as our next breath. He is everywhere.

In 2 Corinthians, chapter 12, the Apostle Paul spoke about being caught up to the third heaven. The first heaven is the created world. The second heaven is the spiritual realm. The third heaven is God’s home.

May your kingdom come

Today, my pastor asked, “What was the gospel that Jesus preached?” I was thinking to myself, the Good News of Salvation. That wasn’t the answer he was looking for. Jesus preached that the kingdom of God is near!

From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

Matthew 4:17

It’s hard to grasp what Jesus meant about the kingdom of God. When we hear the word kingdom; we may imagine a castle 🏰 or the range of a king’s rule.

May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

My pastor described the kingdom of God, or the kingdom of heaven in the book of Matthew, as the range of God’s effective will. It’s where God’s will is made known and put into practice.

Our culture reinforces the notion that heaven is far away and in the future. We think of heaven as up there. Earth and hell are down here.

God’s kingdom is not some far away place. Heaven is not some far away place. Both are near.

Heaven is life lived fully with God.

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Matthew 6:33

Father, I long for your will to be done right here and now. Bring up there down here.

🏰 ❤️ 🏰 ❤️

The Lord’s Prayer (It’s Yours)
Song by Matt Maher

Father, let Your Kingdom come
Father, let Your will be done
On Earth as in Heaven
Right here in my heart